


Snakes and No Ladders

by Swashbuckler



Category: DCU, DCU (Comics), The Flash (Comics)
Genre: Canon Era, Con Artists, Contortionists - Freeform, DC Comics Rebirth, Gen, Male-Female Friendship, Metahumans, Partners in Crime, Snakes, Teasing, Yoga, flattery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-13
Updated: 2019-06-13
Packaged: 2020-05-07 05:28:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 838
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19202830
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Swashbuckler/pseuds/Swashbuckler
Summary: Copperhead and the Trickster have good reason to work together.Even if there are a few teething problems.





	Snakes and No Ladders

**Author's Note:**

> Have tagged this fic with the general 'Copperhead' tag, however it refers to the female Copperhead seen in DC Rebirth's 'The Flash' (who originally appeared in Arkham City). Eventually I will come up with a suitable tag for her specifically.

Copperhead exhaled slowly as she leant forward. Keeping her legs straight in front of her, she stretched until her chest was pressed against her thighs and her palms were level with her toes. She sat like this for a minute before unfolding and laying flat on her back. She raised her arms, then twisted them, placing her palms down on the mat on either side of her head. She pushed her hips up, then followed through with her arms, arching her back as far as she could, her eyes focused on the gym mat that was both ahead of and behind her.

Satisfied with her bridge, she lowered herself down onto the mat again. With a smooth roll onto her front, she pushed her torso up with her arms, then brought her legs up behind her so her toes were touching the back of her head. She closed her eyes, and held the position for a count of thirty.

Lowering her legs, then her torso to the mat, she positioned her arms so her fingertips were just shy of either side of her chin, then - with a fluid movement - she brought her hips up, her legs following gracefully through the air as she folded them over her shoulders and touched her toes to the mat in front of her.

Copperhead closed her eyes, content.

And there she stayed.

That is, until there was a shriek from down the corridor.

Bright green eyes snapped open. With an irritated flick of her tongue, she unfolded herself and got nimbly to her feet, rolling her neck as she padded out of the gymnasium, following the source of the noise.

"Go! Shoo!"

 _Oh._ Copperhead let out an amused huff. _This again._

"Go on, get! Go! Go find mommy!"

"'Mommy'?" Copperhead drawled. "Really?" She folded her arms over her chest, putting her shoulder to the doorframe of the Trickster's workshop, the same Trickster who was currently ten feet in the air staying intently out of reach of the large snake below him.

"You're the one who calls them your babies," James reproved without looking at her. His eyes were fixed on the snake on the ground which was watching him just as intently as he was watching it. The snake had drawn itself up, its neck raised and its mouth open in a wide grin that displayed its fangs in full. As James took a slow step to the side in the air, it swayed, its coils rolling as it followed him.

“You don’t like snakes?”

“If they’re springy and come in a peanut brittle can, sure.”

“The hell are you working with me for if you don’t like snakes?”

“You’re clever, powerful, and ambitious,” the Trickster said with ease. “What’s not to like?”

Copperhead narrowed her eyes. “That your way of asking for my help?”

“No, no I actually meant that,” James laughed. “But, now you mention it, _could you_ be a dear--?”

Copperhead sniggered, pushing herself off the wall of the workshop.

“I’m alright with spiders,” the Trickster continued, taking a slow step down as if descending an invisible staircase, “I’ve dangled enough fake ones in front of people over the years to be unphased. I’m good with rats -- kinda had to be when an old friend started really committing to his namesake. I am _fine_ with snakes,” he stressed, taking another step down towards the floor, “just not when they break into my studio and decide I’m fair game.”

“I think it’s your shoes,” Copperhead said. “The glow is agitating it.” She pointed towards his desk. “Get down.”

“Hey, it broke into my room, not the other way around,” the Trickster grumbled. With quick loping steps through the air, he was on the other side of his workshop. With one neat click of his heels together, the golden glow of his Airwalkers dimmed. He dropped carefully down, landing quietly with a neat bounce in his knees. “Not my fault if it got nosy,” he said from his newfound safety behind his desk.

“Snakes are escape artists,” Copperhead said, watching as the snake lowered its head to the floor. “They can get in and out of anywhere.”

“Just like you,” came the Trickster’s praise from behind her as she bent down to scoop up the snake.

“And just like you.” Copperhead turned to face the Trickster, the calmed snake coiled over her arm. “ _That_ is why you’re working with me.”

James smiled, lopsided and sly. "Might be,” he said coyly. He gave her a tiny wink.

“We’ll leave you to your toys,” Copperhead said to the snake that had worked its way up to her shoulder and slithered around the back of her neck.

“Ciao,” he chirped. “Thank you for collecting your child. Please don’t let it seek out impromptu babysitting again.”

“No guarantees. By the way,” Copperhead called as she left, “you know this snake isn’t venomous, right?” She paused in the corridor connected to James’ workshop, waiting for his reply.

“Yeah,” he said eventually, his voice sullen, “I know.”

**Author's Note:**

> Is James afraid of snakes? I don't think so. Does he have a sensible sense of caution when around them? Yes, for sure, considering reputation of the woman he's working with. Does he appreciated it when they sneak up on him? Definitely not. 
> 
> Apologies for any major inaccuracies about snakes in this fic; I know very little about snakes.
> 
> I hope you liked the fic. :D I need so much more content of James and Copperhead (and Axel). You can't just dangle happy little villain trio in front of my face and _not_ expect me to get invested, DC.


End file.
